Islamabad: Pakistan’s Defence Minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif denied reports claiming that Islamabad would launch a nuclear attack on Israel if it hit Iran with a nuclear bomb. Earlier, a member of Iran’s National Security Council, Monday, claimed that Pakistan would launch a nuclear attack on Israel.
In a post on X, without directly addressing the claim, Muhammad Asif emphasised that the country was a signatory to all “international nuclear disciplines.” He wrote that Pakistan’s nuclear capabilities were to “benefit of our people and defence of our country against hostile designs of our enemies”.
“We do not pursue hegemonic policies against our neighbours, which are being amply demonstrated by Israel these days,” he said. The post was not visible in India as the Indian government had blocked a number of Pakistani accounts amid the conflict last month.
Earlier, General Mohsen Rezaei, a senior military officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), told an Iranian state TV channel, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, “Pakistan has assured us that if Israel uses a nuclear bomb on Iran, they will respond with a nuclear attack on Israel.”
This comes amid the continued confrontation between Tehran and Tel Aviv, which began with Israeli strikes on key nuclear facilities and military personnel in Iran. entered its fourth day. The tension between the two countries flared up even as Iran and the US were in the midst of negotiating a new deal over Tehran’s nuclear programme.
Pakistan backed Iran following the Israeli strikes. Asif, in a fiery speech before Pakistan’s National Assembly on June 14, had called for Islamic unity against Israel. He had warned that other Muslim nations risk suffering the same fate as Iran, Yemen, and Palestine if they fail to respond.
He further called on nations with diplomatic ties to Israel to sever them. The Pakistani minister had also urged the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to convene a summit and adopt a unified strategy.
Nuclear-armed Pakistan does not recognize the state of Israel.
